The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

Joining the likes of Caitlin Cahow and Molly Engstrom, Karen Thatcher becomes the third Boston Blades player to announce her retirement from the US National Team in 2013. A notable figure in New England women’s hockey, her first brush with fame occurred in 2002 when she was the recipient of the Boston Bruins John Carlton Award. She would follow with a solid career for the Providence Friars women’s hockey program in the Hockey East Conference. With the Friars, she earned All-America status, the Sarah Devens Award, and the Hockey East Player of the Year Award After a silver medal with the US team at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Thatcher joined the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. Boston’s inaugural game on October 30, 2010 would also signify her debut with the black and gold. Logging an assist in a 3-0 victory against the Burlington Barracudas, the October 30 contest signified a great start to the beginning of her Blades career. Her first goal with the Blade

One of the most influential US players in CWHL history, Caitlin Cahow has retired from the US National Team. The winner of the 2008 Bob Allen Award (given to the most outstanding women’s player in the United States), Cahow is only the second born US captain to lead a team to the Clarkson Cup (which she did with the Boston Blades in 2013), Cahow is a living legend in American women’s hockey circles. Her debut with the Boston Blades came on October 30, 2010 in a contest against the Burlington Barracudas. While she was held pointless in a 3-0 win, her following game would yield impressive results. Cahow would log one goal and two assists as part of a 6-4 triumph on Halloween 2010. She would finish her inaugural season with the Blades with 13 points in 23 games. For the 2012-13 campaign, Cahow would inherit the team’s captaincy and help the Blades to their first regular season championship. Having logged 14 points, her maturity and acumen were key factors in the black and gold enjoyin

First Relegation Game goes to a shootout with strong goaltending on display With the heartbreak of not being able to compete for a medal, Sweden competed against the Czech Republic in the relegation. Despite qualifying for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, Sweden had to cope with the fact that demotion was a harsh reality. The moment the puck dropped, the Swedes came out aggressively on offense. Their attack was complemented by the Swedish defense stifling the Czech offense. During the first half of the opening frame, the Czechs only managed one shot on net. Radka Lhotska was given the assignment of starting between the pipes for the Czech Republic . She was peppered with shots throughout the period. Lisa Johansson fired a slapshot that bounced out of her glove. With Katerina Flachsova of the Czech Republic serving a penalty for body checking, the Swedish persistence began to pay dividends. Johansson would manage to score the first power play goal of the tournament

Russia prevails as Sweden is off to the relegation round Heading into the contest, there was a must-win feeling for Sweden as a loss would place them into the relegation round. As one of the premier women’s ice hockey programs in the world, the Swedes were hoping to end the round robin on a winning note. Standing between the pipes for Sweden was Valentina Lizana. Having faced 14 shots in the first frame, she played valiantly. The only goal she would allow in the first came courtesy of a power play. With Erika Grahm serving a penalty for body contact, Anna Shibanova would release a slap shot from the blue line that was tipped in by Russian captain Yekaterina Smolentseva. Sweden struggled to muster an offensive attack as they registered five shots in the frame. With three total penalties in the period, the emphasis was neutralizing the Russian power play. Near the end of the first frame, Sweden started to apply some pressure on Nadezhda Alexandrova as Pernilla Winber

Germany prevails over Czech Republic with anticipation of quarterfinals Heading into the final day of competition in Pool B of the 2013 IIHF Women’s Worlds, Germany needed a win to stay alive in anticipation of qualifying for the quarterfinals. With a tough opponent in the Czech Republic , a loss would place either team in jeopardy of competing in the relegation games. A strong German power play made the difference in this contest. Marie Delarbre opened the scoring for the Germans on the power play. They would follow in the second period with another power play marker. While the Czechs outshot Germany in the first period, the club struggled with penalties. Heading into the final frame, the Czechs faced a 4-1 deficit. Katerina Becevova signified a goalie change but the Czech squad was frustrated. While the Czechs managed to score twice in the third, the Germans prevailed by a 6-3 tally.   The captain of Germany , Susann Gotz was excited about the possibilities aft

Mrazova leads Czech Republic to 6-3 victory with three point performance A hard skating match with great determination was the theme of this exhibition match at the CIH Arena in Rockland , Ontario . After a visceral 10-1 loss to Finland on March 29 in Smiths Falls , Ontario , the Czech Republic was hoping for a better result versus the Ottawa Gee Gees. Cassie Seguin, an alumnus with the Canadian Under-18 team was the starting goaltender for the Gee Gees. During the first period, she was a solid presence between the pipes as the Gee Gees were outshot. Denisa Krizova of the Czech Republic was the first player to test Seguin as she released a powerful shot. Following Krizova, Lucie Povova (who plays at the NCAA level with the Northeastern Huskies) shot in heavy traffic but Seguin was prepared. Klara Chmelova, who once attended the CIH Academy in Rockland , weaved her way through traffic but Seguin stoned her as well. Eventually, Seguin would get some offensive

An emotional match for Sara Seiler saw her face-off against her former club team, the Carleton Ravens university women’s team. The contest began with a ceremonial face-off featuring Sue Scherer, the first captain of the Canadian Women’s Team that captured gold at the inaugural IIHF Women’s Worlds in 1990. Early on, the Germans believed that they had captured the first lead of the game. In the Ravens zone, Sara Seiler made a cross-ice pass that bounced off the skate of Ravens defender Kaylee Welk. While the puck found its way in the net, the goal was disallowed. Manuela Anwander of Germany proceeded to record a few shots on Ravens starting goaltender Tamber Tisdale. While there was a lot of back and forth with clean skating, both clubs struggled to assemble an offense. Germany ’s Maritta Becker was called for hooking in the first penalty of the game. With the Ravens on a power play, they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Ivonne Schroder, the starting goaltender